| supersoaker |

Ariel jumped and looked up. She longed to be able to fly up to the top of the wall, to feel the wind easily. Instead, she had some curious human looking person peering down at her. Were they human? Were they bad? She hesitated before answering his question. “My…” Species… Comrades… “Friends,” she went with in the end. “I felt them near here.”

    FRIENDS. Friends were important. Friends shouldn’t stay lost. Friends often made the world go around — and around and around, till survival became impossible without the safety of their presence looming over you. Head tilted to the side as he continued to study her from his perch, Cerberus flashed a buoyant grin. “DO YOU NEED ANY HELP FINDING THEM?” Weren’t two heads supposed to be better than one? ... Scratch that. Better make it three. “I’VE BEEN TOLD I’VE GOT A GOOD NOSE.” Like a bloodhound.

— “You get an allowance?” Awe coats his tone. He doesn’t know exactly what an allowance does, but if it lets the other male get anything he wants, it can’t be all bad. It doesn’t sound bad at all. “You’re lucky. You only have a couple days to wait … ” Which doesn’t seem all that long to begin with; whereas Yoo-Geol has little choice but to make do with the coins the nice people give him anytime he begs for some. He doesn’t even really have a cave to call his own; Malachi doesn’t exactly chase him away whenever he finds his way to his place, but since he’s preoccupied with someone else, the young manticore doesn’t want to cause him any unnecessary trouble or give him a reason to abandon him.        But at the mention of smelling like a cat, he flashes a cheerful grin and nods. “You’re probably smelling the red lion.” The biggest part of his previous form.

— Then, when he comes even closer, practically invading his personal space, Yoo-Geol instinctively takes a step back, showing his neck in submissiveness. “I do?” He whispers, lifting his arm to give it a sniff but scenting nothing out of the ordinary.

    “YOU DON’T?” Tone rife with disbelief, Cerberus felt a twinge of sympathy at the thought of this boy not having spending money to do as he pleased. He was lucky. Hades often indulged his whims, giving him free reign to play as he saw fit. But this male didn’t seem to have a master willing to spoil him. “I COULD SHARE MINE WITH YOU,” he offered earnestly, thinking nothing of sharing his funds with this creature that smelled of cotton candy and pine; an interesting combination. Which was strange, since he was always so stingy with his possessions. What was his was his. No one else had the right to initiate any sort of claim on what he considered his, including money. But there was something about his new friend that roused both his protective and possessive instincts. “RED LION? IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE?” He asked curiously, trying to place his species. Did red lions have wings?

— “What?” Hades asks — out of reflex more than anything, used to Cerberus’s playfulness. But then he pauses, fork raised for the second bite of chicken, and stares, not quite sure he heard him right. “Come again?”

      “I SAW MASTER’S LADY THE OTHER DAY,” Cerberus repeated, enunciating each word carefully in case Hades failed to pick up on that important detail. “SHE DIDN’T SEEM TO KNOW WHO I WAS, THOUGH.” He poked his bottom lip out in a disappointed pout. “AND SHE CALLED HERSELF KORE. WHO’S KORE?”

       “GUESS WHAT?” Cerberus said playfully, poking Hades’s arm in an attempt to catch his full, undivided attention. “I SAW MASTER’S LADY THE OTHER DAY.” And the weird thing was, she hadn’t recognized him. 

— A gumball machine sounds interesting. Maybe that’s the thing responsible for giving him the jolly ranchers. But to think stores also sold them! He’ll have to look into that. “You have a master?” Yoo-Geol says curiously. Is it like the bond he has with Malachi? While he’s not really considered a master, he’s still in charge, which gives off the familiar feel of a master. “I don’t have any money myself. Nice people give me coins, and I spend them — as fast as I get them … Maybe I can ask Malachi if he has any money to spare.” Would he be willing to share if he did? Now that’s the question. “Oh! Oh … Sure!” He hands over a red-colored jolly rancher without hesitation, happy to share with him. “Cherry and watermelon are my favorite flavors. But I like blue raspberry too.”           Intrigued by his explanation, Yoo-Geol unwraps a watermelon jolly rancher and pops it into his mouth. “I had wings once,” he replies offhandedly but with pride for his wings — they were more decorative than practical, but he liked them all the same.

    “I DO,” he answered happily, accepting the proffered piece of red candy and after quickly unwrapping it, he popped it into his mouth, the sweet flavor exploding on his tongue. Cherry. Yum. “MASTER GIVES ME SOMETHING CALLED AN ALLOWANCE EVERY OTHER DAY, BUT I ONLY HAVE THREE COINS AND ONE OF THOSE NUMBERED PIECES OF PAPER LEFT. IT’S A FIVE,” he felt the need to clarify, a disappointed frown curving his lips. “I HAVE TO WAIT TILL THE NEXT DAY BEFORE I CAN REPLENISH MY STOCK.” But then the dark brown of his eyes lit up when a sudden thought came to him. “YOU ... YOU SMELL OF CAT.” His expression fell, however, when he realized just what the other boy had said. “BUT CATS DON’T HAVE WINGS ... " 

  At his exuberant reply, her smile deepens, cheeks dimpling as amusement shoves all other emotion aside. The man has a point. Trees do smell good, especially when they’re at the height of healthiness. But his added comment indicates that he isn’t human, that perhaps he’s of the canine persuasion, which also explains the juvenility of his attitude. “What on earth have those cats done to you to make you chase them so?” She asks teasingly. Cats can be quite mischievous, so there’s no telling what they’ve done to provoke such actions from him. 

  But then her smile falters when he questions her earlier whereabouts, sure he’s mistaken her for someone else. “Trees don’t necessarily make the best of hiding places when you’re … larger than a cat.” In other words, just because she finds trees amazing doesn’t mean she will willingly take up the challenge of hiding in them. “But why do you ask?” While random, the reason behind his question most likely isn’t.

    TEMPTED to rub his head against her arm in search of that affectionate head scratch she was known for — it had been something Master’s lady had always gone out of her way to offer, often in lieu of playing fetch — Cerberus scrunched up his nose at her question. Why would cats need to do anything to be chased? Wasn’t he genetically programmed to chase them no matter what they did? Down in the underworld, he’d never been given the chance to act as any canine would in this kind of situation, but topside, he didn’t have that issue. “THEY RUN AWAY,” he replied simply — when his keen eyesight picked up such swift movements, he couldn’t resist giving chase. It was in his blood. “I JUST WANT TO PLAY, BUT THEY USUALLY AVOID ME WHEN THEY SEE ME COMING.” Must be a cat thing.

Apollo BLINKS, an amused chuckle slipping free at his advice. “Now that’s liable to send the wrong message.” And can potentially lead to some dangerous situations. He may never get rid of her at this point. “And that’s also something Hades’s massively three-headed, too-excitable guard dog would say … Cerberus, that you?”

    IF he’d had a tail, Cerberus would be wagging it at this point, excited that someone had recognized him without him having to shout to the heavens who he was and how much fun he was having with opposable thumbs. “I WISH I HAD THREE HEADS, BUT IT’S KIND OF NICE NOT HAVING TO FIGHT OVER EVERY SCRAP OF FOOD.” When you had three mouths to feed, what did ya expect? “WEIRD. WHENEVER I BITE SOMEONE, THEY EITHER GIVE ME AN ODD LOOK AND SLOWLY BACK AWAY OR RUN AWAY SCREAMING. EITHER WAY, THEY SCAT.”

pup: ... i'm listening.

master: i saw an interesting building during my search for persephone. it advertised mining for gold and silver and other marvels. doesn't that sound fun?

Rolling her eyes, the goddess shook her curls out of her face. A humorless chuckle fell from her lips as she watched him. “Because I don’t carry candy around in my pockets?” She did sometimes, but she hadn’t chose to today, which meant he just had a keen sense of smell for whatever was left in her bag. Which of course he did. He was a dog. “Used to isn’t the same thing as can. I used to be able to do a lot of things.” 

“Well…. I did pass a candy store on my way here. I’m sure we could get you some from there.” Smiling sweetly at the dog, she raised her shoulders slightly.

    HAVING candy stashed anywhere and everywhere — that was Cerberus’s motto now that he possessed opposable thumbs capable of collecting candy for himself rather than waiting for Hades to do it for him. But it never once crossed his mind that other people didn’t share his philosophy on candy. But then he soon found himself distracted by her admission. “LIKE WHAT? LIKE WHAT?” Eris was a goddess. She’d been capable of doing many things. But he couldn’t remember what kind of goddess she’d been, having spent much of his time in the underworld.

“Did he?” she asked, her voice dripping in fake interest. She couldn’t care less what big ol’ Hades told his little pet. A leash would only be appropriate with the way the dog was behaving. Act like a dog, look like a dog. But Eris couldn’t lie. She’d always had a soft spot for the mongrel. Even if it was just being a little less mean with him. “That’s exactly what it means, Sparky. I can’t pull it out of thin air.” She smirked at the beast, feeling a plan forming as she spoke. 

    HE wasn’t fooled by the tone she employed — she’d always been good at feigning interest. But that didn’t stop him from eagerly nodding his head, more than pleased to see her well ... And alive. Alive was good. Alive meant candy and playtime. “WHY NOT?” Cerberus mumbled, his voice closer to a whine than a growl. “YOU USED TO BE ABLE TO.” So had the other gods and goddesses. 

“Smell?” Eris asked, her eyes turning away from the paper she was holding to look at the familiar face. “Could you be any more obvious?” Pursing her lips, she watched the dog closely. “What are you doing just running about? Isn’t there a leash law?”

    PERKING up at the sound of that familiar voice, Cerberus slid Eris a pouting look, complete with puppy dog eyes and a protruding bottom lip. “MASTER SAYS I DON’T REQUIRE A LEASH TO GO OUTSIDE,” he replied earnestly, proud to be a canine Hades believed to be loyal and deserving of such a reward.

 “SO —   DOES THAT MEAN NO CANDY?” The Eris he remembered would have likely pretended to offer him candy, then take it back. 

“Ah yes, my offerings of sugar are ample reason to make me your favorite. That aside, manners are very important, pup, people will be more willing to do you favors if you use them.”

Cerberus was a special canine, willful and wild and wide eyed all at once, and Charon reached out, tracing his fingertips across the top of the boys head in a gentle scritch. Such talk of Persephone bothered him though, for he detested every whimsical thing she stood for, and the way that she threw away the very love that he craved. 

“He will continue to search, no matter how I tell him there are better things he could do with his time. But no, I have nothing to do, though I’m not bored. What would you like to do?”

    SUGAR offerings were enough to earn his undying love; that much was true. There was no point in lying about something easily found out — because all it would take was one piece of candy to gain his full, undivided attention, maybe even a verbalization of his undying love. Some gods were of the belief that that was how his master managed to tame him. But the truth was that he loved Hades — had loved him from the moment of his birth — and would do anything for him. But that didn’t mean he’d say no to candy. Who would? “MY FAVORITE IS MY FAVORITE — IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW YOU BECAME MY FAVORITE. YOU JUST ARE.” He offered him a sweet, boyish smile, subconsciously leaning into his touch, but then wrinkled his nose at the ferryman’s next words. “SO I GUESS THAT MEANS I HAVE TO MIND MY MANNERS EVERYWHERE, DON’T I?” He wanted to groan at the thought but knew better than to give into the urge to do so while around Charon.

Laughing then, unable to help himself, Charon deposited one, two, three butterscotch candies into Cerberus’ palm. He spoiled the pup, more often than not, and it would do no good, but it was a habit that he couldn’t seem to help. 

“Since you minded your manners.”

His smile fell a little then, and Charon offered a tempered smile. 

“My Lord is off in search of Lady Persephone, as usual.”

    “AND THIS IS WHY YOU’RE MY FAVORITE,” Cerberus murmured and gratefully accepted the three butterscotch candies, quickly unwrapping one and popping it into his mouth while stuffing the other two into his pocket. Better to save them for a future candy break than to gobble them up now. “ONLY YOU’VE EVER CARED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF MANNERS.” Said around the piece of candy he was currently going to town on. Not even his master had scolded him for having no manners. He must have decided to leave that kind of thing to Charon.

Sweet pickles weren’t what she wanted. 

Rocking back on his heels again, knees creaking, Hyun frowned at the strange symbols that stood for letters that he couldn’t understand, and numbers that were too high for him to properly read. Lips smacking together, he tipped his head to look at the stranger then, loose jawed and eyes narrowed. 

“You busy?”

    LIPS pursed in thought, Cerberus looked from the man who was inwardly debating what to buy to the shelves of pickled goods, too many to count, each scent struggling to out-do the others. If he wasn’t so used to separating scents and categorizing them, his own senses would have probably been overwhelmed by now. But since he was of the canine persuasion, he didn’t have as much trouble identifying scents. Maybe that was why the stranger seemed to take his words at face value.